


Shared Pain is Pain Lessened

by Keirra



Series: Multifarious Liaisons [6]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 01:13:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keirra/pseuds/Keirra
Summary: In the last place he expects to find it, Malavai Quinn finds the only person who can truly understand the pain he keeps to himself because it is one Jedi Knight Deena Oran knows intimately. Where better to find comfort than in the arms of someone seeking the same?





	1. Chapter One

Sixth in my series of randomly generated Swtor ship one shots. Written with the prompt: “"So.. Was it good?"”

This got terribly away from me and will be more than one chapter. Because I fell into plot. And Quinn kind of demanded it. 

* * *

 

Quinn had only intended to stop by the cantina briefly, get something to eat and perhaps a drink, before retiring to his room for the night. He had only been on Odessen for a few short days, having spent most of the three weeks since he had volunteered his services to Deena Oran, the Commander of the Eternal Alliance, working alongside her on Iokath. He had offered to stay and oversee things when she prepared to return to the base, but she would not have it. Said everyone needed a rest and that the troops coming to relieve them were more than capable of handling things. While it was nice to be away from the front lines being in their base and with the rest of the members of the Alliance drove home the realization that he didn’t know anyone here.   
  
It wasn’t the first time he had a posting where he felt isolated from the others around him, Balmorra had been that way for 10 long years, but the few years he spent with Eira and her crew reminded him how good belonging to a group could feel. He missed it more than he was willing to admit.  
  
Straightening his back and brushing the melancholy thoughts away he continued over to the bar, where he got that drink he wanted and put in his food order before turning to scan the room for a place to sit. In the far corner of the cantina, sitting alone on one of the curved couches in the back rooms, he saw Commander Oran reading from a data pad. The plate in front of her looked untouched in her distraction.   
  
_Well that won’t do_ , he thought as he started weaving his way through the tables and people between them. One of his self-appointed duties was doing all he could to ensure the Commander’s well-being and if he was being forced to take R & R she should be doing so as well. 

Deena looked up from her datapad as he approached her table and smiled, brushing her long red hair over her shoulder from where it had fallen across her face.

“Hello Quinn,” she said brightly before frowning slightly. “Is it alright if I just call you Quinn instead of Major?”

“Of course, Commander,” he said with a polite nod before gesturing to the seat next to her. “May I join you?”

“Certainly,” she answered, scooting slightly to the side to make a bit more room for him. “And please Quinn, call me Deena.”

Quinn sat down next to her, careful to leave a respectable space between them and set his drink down on the table. “That would hardly be proper.”

Deena sighed, “maybe someday. How are you finding Odessen? Settling in alright?”

His response was interrupted by one of the protocol droids stopping by the table to set his food down in front of him. After the droid left he turned to face her.

“The base is very impressive, especially for the short time since the Alliance formed. I had the chance to speak with Admiral Aygo earlier and we plan to compare tactics that had worked in our past operations to compile the most complete strategy codex possible.”

“Oh, that will be a good to have, Acina tells me you are a particularly talented strategist, but I didn’t mean work. How about with the other stuff? Your accommodations comfortable? Settling in with the rest of the crew here okay?”

Quinn resisted the urge to fidget uncomfortably under her gaze. Other than the Admiral, and the Commander’s main advisers, he hadn’t spoken with anyone else since arriving on Odessen. He would never be accused of being the kind to make idle chit chat with strangers. He decided her other question was a safer avenue of conversation.

“My new quarters are perfectly adequate, I’ve certainly had less comfortable accommodations.”

She shook her head slightly, chuckling, “alright I guess that’s good.”

Quinn started eating his meal as Deena turned back to her datapad. From where he was sitting he couldn’t read what was displayed on the device, but he could see that her eyes weren’t really focused on it. Her own meal still sat off to the side and ignored.

“Commander,” he said, drawing her attention back to him. “There will be time for work later, you should eat.”

“Oh,” she said, setting the pad down and turning to look at her plate. “I suppose you are right.” She pulled the plate closer to her and started poking at it with her utensils.

As he turned back to his own meal he watched her out of his peripheral vision. This was far from the first meal he had shared with her, and the sparse minute bites she was taking between pushing her food about the plate was not what he had previously observed. He debated asking her about it for a few minutes, whether it was his place or not, but something was obviously bothering her and no one else was around to do it.

“Excuse me if I'm overstepping my bounds,” he asked carefully, “is something bothering you, Commander?”

She sighed, turning on the seat to look at him imploringly. “Please Quinn, it’s Deena. I am going to forget my own name if everyone here refuses to use it.”

“Are you alright Deena?” He conceded, ignoring the way her name felt both alien and natural without her proper title. 

“Yeah, I just…” she grimaced and picked up her drink, taking a generous gulp. “I just lost track of the date while we were on Iokath and realized today that last week was my anniversary.”

Quinn frowned slightly. “Anniversary? Are saying you are married?” He’d never heard of a Jedi being married, but the way she said the word he was sure that was what she meant.

She nodded, “Yeah, kinda I guess. I mean I don't know where he is, or what happened to him after Arcann took me prisoner…” Her voice trailed off for a moment before she scoffed, “That probably sounds so pathetic doesn't it? I’m supposed to be this great hero, the Commander of the Eternal Alliance, a Jedi Battlemaster, the Hero of Tython for star’s sake. All these people expect me to save the galaxy and I don't even know how to find my husband. Or if I even still have one. Pretty pathetic right?”

Quinn’s breath caught in his throat, the familiarity of her words cut to his core. She was still looking his direction, her green eyes unfocused just over his shoulder as she was lost in her pain.

He wasn’t usually one to open up to others, in fact he almost never did that, but the almost eerie similarities of their situations and the obviously sadness in her expression prompted him to do just that.

“Actually,” he said softly, waiting for her attention to focus back on his face. “I know a bit how you must feel. My wife went missing a bit before the war and I haven't been able to find any sign of her since. I believe she is alive, but where she went is a mystery.”

“Oh, Quinn I’m sorry.” She leaned forward and placed her hand on his arm.

He smiled slightly, placing his hand over her’s. Normally the gesture would have bothered him, he didn’t appreciate being touched casually, but in this moment, it was oddly comforting. “Thank you, Deena. The Imperial military declared her dead 4 years ago, they believe she didn’t make it off Ziost.”  
  
All the color drained from her face and the hand still on his arm tensed, bunching up the cloth of his sleeve.   
  
“Deena?”

She drew her hand back, running it through her hair before grabbing her glass and taking another drink. “I don't know if you would know this, but I was on Ziost, trying to help stop with the Emperor’s plans. We left right before it happened, I was still at the space port. What happened there, what it felt like in the Force… it still gives me nightmares."

“I should have been there, I had come down with Dantari flu. I was in hospital on Dromund Kaas when Eira got called into the conflict on Ziost.”

“And nothing, no word from her since then?”

He shook his head in the negative. 

Deena sent him a sympathetic look, slouching down in her seat enough to lean her head against the backrest of the couch. Her gaze was fixed on the ceiling as she spoke. “The last time I saw Doc, Archiban really but no one called him that, was right before I boarded Marr’s ship. It was supposed to be a quick stop, he was working in the med bay and didn’t see me off. Had no idea I’d never see him again.”

She lolled her head to the side, their eyes meeting, and smiled softly. 

“What a pair we make?” she said, sitting up to grab her glass and hold it up to him, “to shared hardships.”

He lifted his glass and clinked it against hers, “I can drink to that.”

Deena threw back the rest of her drink while he took a more conservative swallow. She stared into her empty glass for a moment before standing.

“I think I need another. I’ll be right back Quinn.”

He watched her walk away, heading straight for the bar and nodding and exchanging greetings with several people on her way, before turning his gaze back to his drink. Their conversation was playing on repeat in his mind. He had lived so long with this pain, of not knowing if Eira was missing or dead and being told he was foolish to hold out hope. Having someone understand, to be dealing with a similar situation was uncanny.

In an odd way he was grateful to know this wasn’t a pain unique to himself, though realistically he knew in a galaxy constantly torn apart by war lost spouses couldn’t be an atypical occurrence. Still, telling someone about her, that he believed she was alive but just missing, and not being told he was naive, or delusional?

That honestly felt better than he could have imagined. Had it really been that long since he was last able to share his thoughts with someone who wasn’t constantly judging him, looking for chinks in his armor.

“Look what I found,” Deena said, stirring him from his thoughts as she sat a bottle and two fresh glasses on the table in front of him. Quinn picked up the bottle and examined the label while Deena walked around the table to return to her seat. He read the label twice before looking over at her.

“Somnaskol Red?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her, “what is one of the most expensive wines in the galaxy doing here?”

Deena shrugged, “honestly I don’t know where it came from. Gault maybe. He seems like a man of expensive tastes. Care to join me for a drink, or two or three? I dare say we deserve it.”

“I would be a fool to turn down such an offer. That’s a very rare vintage Deena.” He gestured to the bottle, “would you like me to pour?”

She nodded, “yes please. And I know, it is very rare. Apparently, there are some perks to being in charge around here. Who knew making all the hard decisions and constantly risking your life meant you got first choice at the top shelf booze? No proper wine glasses sadly.”

He shot her a smile and poured them each a drink, three fingers deep of the rich dark red liquid. He passed her a glass, clinked his against her’s obligingly when she held it up near his, and they savored the first taste quietly.

Quinn had heard often about the Somnaskol Red, for all its rarity it was well known as one of the best wines available. He had never had the opportunity to taste it before and it was well worth the wait. The Somnaskol was a perfect blend of cularin and pyussh berries with a faint hint of homogoni from the barrels it was aged inside in the background. Medium bodied, balanced and the fruit flavors weren’t buried under the sharp tartness of the tannins. It was easily the best wine he had ever had.

“Quinn,” she said hesitantly, turning to sit sideways in her seat to face him. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Certainly.”

“Have you-do you ever lose that hope? That she is still alive?” She frowned, “is it terrible that sometimes I’m pretty sure I’m a widow, not a wife?”

He took a shaky breath, looking down into his glass. “Sometimes. Some days it’s easier to believe that is the only thing that would keep her away for so long.”

“Yeah, I get days like that, sometimes it's like the Force is telling me I'll never see him again. It's hard just to get out of bed on days like that.” She laughed under her breath, “I'm a terrible Jedi. If only Master Orgus could see me now.”

“Was he your teacher?” He asked, quickly grabbing the opportunity to change the subject. He didn’t have the Force like Deena to tell him he would never see Eira again, but the days he was sure she must have perished were far more common than he would like to admit.

“Yes, for a short time. Darth Angral killed him just before he tried to destroy Tython.”

“I remember reading about that. It was quite the surprise when he was defeated, but I never did learn the details.” It had been a matter of great speculation, but his ship was never recovered by the Empire and none of Angral’s crew ever resurfaced.

She grimaced, “that would be my doing.”

“That’s very impressive, you must have been very young when you faced him.” Quinn was not sure of her age, but she looked no more than 25 at the oldest. That had been 8 years ago, even considering the 5 years she spent in carbonite she would have been 3 years younger than she was now.

“I think I had just barely turned 20 when I fought him,” she said, tapping her fingers on her chin while she thought. “Yes, that’s right because Lady Organa wanted to throw a party in my favor, since they had named me their “Paladin” for services rendered. She was quite disappointed to learn that Jedi don’t celebrate their birthdays - at least not with large extravagant parties.”

“Wait,” he said, “are you saying you are only 23 years old?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, “almost 24, but yes. Is that a problem?”

“Of course not, your accomplishments more than speak for themselves. It’s just,” he paused, considering his words carefully, “you have a lot of responsibility placed on your shoulders for someone so young.”

Deena nodded, “story of my life really. It’s a good thing I’m a workaholic.” She smiled when she said it, but there was no humor in it.

Looking at her, Quinn could almost see the weight she carried and was surprised that he hadn’t noticed it before.

“Comm-Deena,” he said, catching himself falling back into habit, “I hope you know that you can rely on me to assist you in anyway necessary.”

She smiled gratefully, “I do.”

He returned her smile with a nod and they drifted into an easy silence, both lost in their own thoughts and savoring the expensive wine she had procured.

It was after she poured their second drink Deena broke the comfortable silence between them and asked, “what do you miss the most?”

The confused glance he sent her was all she needed to elaborate.

“About being married, you know, before being separated.”

With a thoughtful hum he leaned back against the couch and pondered her question. There were many things he missed about Eira, and about how his life was different as her husband than it had been at any other point, but how to narrow that down to one point? Then he remembered earlier, thinking how nice it felt to be able to speak freely without being judged. Something he hadn’t had since he was last at Eira’s side, until tonight.

“Having a Confidant,” he said at length. “Someone to share my thoughts with who wouldn't judge me for them or use them against me. Who cared what I had to say, even if it was just my idle thoughts.”

Deena smiled, “oh that is a good one, I miss that too.”

“And you? What do you miss the most Deena?” He asked, turning her line of questioning back on her.

She smiled into her glass, before laughing softly. “It will probably sound silly, but I miss the way he said my name, or used pet names like gorgeous or beautiful for me instead of any of my titles. For so long everyone around me has only used a title. Padawan, Apprentice, Master, Battlemaster, now it’s Commander and I wasn’t joking earlier. I miss being “Deena” to someone, just getting to be me and having that be enough.”

“That’s not silly,” he said immediately, causing her to look up at him in surprise. “I can completely understand that, I don't know when someone called me Malavai last. It might have been Eira, and even then, she only did that in private. To everyone else I am Major Quinn, or just Quinn.”

“I don’t think I knew your first name until now.”

He nodded, “my point exactly. Even the Empress does not use my full name.”

“Well I like it. Malavai,” she said, repeating his name a few times before smiling at him. “It rolls off the tongue well.”

“You could-I mean to say that if you wanted to, you can call me that,” he said, stumbling over his surprisingly forward offer. Perhaps the Somnaskol was stronger than he thought?

She scooted a bit closer to him, “what else do you miss Malavai?”

The way she drew out the syllables of his name, her voice dropped ever so slightly to a huskier tone that her normal speaking voice had a profound effect on him. One his body was apparently willing and ready to respond to. Needing to delay answering for a moment he lifted his glass and drained it.

His delaying tactic, used in hopes that he wouldn’t voice the immediate answer that had popped into his mind, proved unsuccessful when he set his glass back down and faced her again. He didn’t know if it was the wine, how close she was now sitting, or the intense way she was looking at him, but he answered her honestly.

“The intimacy.”

She blushed a bright red, one he was sure was matched on his own face, but he didn’t attempt to take it back because she was smiling and nodding despite the flush on her cheeks.

“Oh yes,” she sighed, “and being held”

“Holding her in my arms.”

“Teasing touches at inappropriate times.”

“Deliberate touches at appropriate times.”

“His fingers running through my hair.”

“The taste of her skin.”

“The taste of his lips.”

“The feel of skin on skin.”

“The weight of a body above me.”

“The feel of one below me.”

“Trying not to moan out loud.”

“Doing everything I can to coax out her moans.”

“Surrendering control and letting myself feel everything.” 

“Coming completely undo-”

Deena cut him off by closing the distance between them, that had shrunk bit by bit with each exchange as they both leaned toward the other and pressing her lips hard against his. He reacted immediately, pulling her closer and running a hand up her spine to cup the back of her head. She was kissing him almost frantically and he was as desperate for her. He could taste the wine on her lips, in her mouth when he deepened the kiss. The exquisite bouquet of the wine blended with her natural taste was intoxicating and he needed more.

Her hands were on his chest, where she caught herself when he pulled her close, and he was sure she could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage. Feeling high on the rush of arousal and endorphins coursing through his system all Quinn could think about was the feel of her pressed against him; one of her knees on the cushion, between his legs so she was straddling his thigh; the way she gasped into his mouth when he lifted his thigh to press against her groin; the way she tasted as he muffled her gasp with his mouth; how desperately he wanted to feel the skin hidden away by her layers of Jedi robes.

Their kiss, desperate and heated as they both tried to feel as much of each other that they could, was interrupted by a loud shout and the sound of glass breaking from the main room of the cantina. Both pulled back quickly, Deena almost lost her balance and had to catch herself with a hand on the back of the couch. They had been so intent on one another they had forgotten that they might be out of sight, but they were still in public.

They stared at each other, both panting slightly as their bodies came down from the sudden high, for a long moment before Quinn licked his lips and broke the silence.

“Deena, how drunk are you?” he asked seriously.

“Enough to admit I want this, not enough to do something I'd regret. You?”

“Same.”

She smiled at him, a surprisingly wicked look for a Jedi in her eyes that promised things that made him want to shiver. “Malavai,” she said, again drawing out his name like she knew how it had affected him earlier, “would you like to continue this in my room?”

“I am at your disposal Commander.”

 


	2. Chapter Two

Deena stood and, placing her hand on the back of the couch to balance, leaned over him to brush her lips against his. “I certainly hope so.”

She stepped away, picking up the bottle and, after waiting a moment for him to stand as well, started walking through the crowded cantina. Quinn followed a few steps behind her, his face carefully schooled into professional neutrality even as his pulse and mind were racing.

_Was this really happening?_ He wondered. It almost felt too good, too crazy, to be true. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t admired Deena’s beauty before, as a straight warm-blooded male it would be impossible not to see it. She was fit, as expected of someone with an aggressive fighting style like hers and had long fiery orange hair that fell in waves down her back. Her eyes reminded him of Eira, one of the first things he had noticed about her when they met. Dark green eyes staring out from under dark lashes to eye him critically had almost made him stumble over his words when he presented Empress Acina’s message, the resemblance was so startling.

Yes, his attraction to Deena had been almost immediate.

She led him easily through the cantina to the elevator that would take them down to the main level of the base, where her quarters were located. They were not alone on the elevator, a few people he recognized as the crew of the Gravestone were riding down with them but if they thought it was odd that the Commander and a formal Imperial Major were headed somewhere together, with a bottle of wine, they didn’t comment on it. Neither did anyone working in the War Room as they made their way through, though Quinn was sure they had been noticed.

When they reached her door, she turned to face him. It was the first time she had looked at them since confirming that he had followed her onto the elevator.

“Any second thoughts?” She asked, having to look up a little to meet his eyes. She gestured at her door with her free hand, “last chance to back out and we can both go our own rooms and hands.”

Quinn returned her gaze and thought over her words. Taking care of himself wasn’t a new prospect to him, he had been single or estranged for most of his life, but the idea of going back to his own room and doing that tonight? After the kiss they had shared in the cantina? After hearing her imply she would be doing the same?

It would be a pale compensation.

He stepped closer to her, raising his hand to brush his fingers across her cheek. “As I said before, I am at your disposal if you want me.”

Her lips curled into a wide smile and she reached behind her to hit the button to open the door. She stepped backwards into the room, her eyes never leaving his and gestured for him to follow.

Quinn stood on the other side of the door, watching her smile at him before stepping into the room. She turned to set the wine bottle down on a table off to the side of the room as he closed, and locked, the door behind him.

He had barely turned back around to face her before he had an armful of Jedi. She pressed herself against him, forcing him to step backward so his back hit the door, and her hands cupped his face to pull him down to her own. Her lips pressed against his, and he returned the kiss eagerly. Any hesitations between them were gone as he pulled her close, relishing in the feeling of her body against his own.

Deena ran her hands across his chest, along the seams of his shirt searching for the closures to remove it. After a moment of groping his chest she pulled away from their kiss to examine his shirt with an annoyed huff.

“Are you in a hurry?” He asked, watching her struggle with his uniform top.

She smiled up at him, “maybe I am bit excited. Is that such a terrible thing?”

“No,” he said, taking her hands in his to guide them to the neatly hidden closure near his neck. He assisted her in pulling the zipper down to open his shirt. She eyed him appreciatively, biting her lip, as she pushed the material away and down his arms, leaving him in his white undershirt from the waist up. She ran her fingers up his bare arms as he leaned down to capture her lips again.

Quinn grabbed her by the hips and turned, pressing her back against the door.

Her fingers were like fire, leaving trails of heat behind as she slipped them beneath his undershirt, pushing the fabric up and out of her way as she explored his abs and traced her fingers over his nipples. He took a shuddering breath against her lips before kissing his way across her cheek and jaw to worry at the sensitive skin beneath her ear 

“Oh Malavai,” she gasped and arched her back to press closer to him.

“I take it you like that?” He asked, sounding more than a little smug at the reaction he had received.

“Maybe but I’d wager,” she said while running one of her hands down his body to cup his erection through his pants, “that you like this too.”

He shuddered against her, groaning in her ear, and she it was her turn to laugh smugly.

“I thought so.”

She continued to rub him through his clothing and he had to lean forward with his forearm against the wall to stay standing. It had been so long since someone else had touched him that the sensation, even though two layers of fabric. it was almost overwhelming. Even leaning over he was still taller than Deena, and she looked up and smiled at him as he watched her touch him. He could almost imagine how it would look if their clothing was gone, and the mental image made him close his eyes and take a shaky breath.

He was not likely to last long, if his reaction to her was any indication.

Concentrating on his breathing he tried to regain some control as she continued to fondle him. The way he was leaning over her, his head hanging just over her shoulder, made it easy for her to reach his neck with her lips. His free hand buried in her hair as she returned his earlier attentions to her own neck, kissing and nipping just hard enough to made him groan.

Finally, he couldn’t take any more, not unless he wanted this to end in embarrassment for himself, and he pushed himself away from the wall just far enough to capture her lips in a firm kiss.

“Bed?” he asked, breathlessly against her lips.

“Bed.” Deena agreed, nodding enthusiastically, “but we are a tad overdressed." 

“That can be easily rectified,” he said, moving his hands to her belt. Quickly he found the latch and let it fall to the ground, her lightsabers hitting the floor with a heavy thud, before pushing her over robe off her shoulders to join it. He ran his hands over her torso, looking a way to undo the complicated layering of tunics she wore before she giggled.

“Apparently not, good thing we know how to undress ourselves,” she teased as she showed him where the topmost layer was tucked into the one beneath it. She repeated the process two more times, shedding three layers of brown and tan fabric as he watched fascinated. Once she was naked from the waist up, including a practical looking brassiere she quickly removed as well, he took in the rather large pile of clothing at her feet and shook his head.

“Is there a reason you wear so many layers? Is this some sort of Jedi modesty thing?” He asked as she worked her feet out of her boots, tossing them to the side to join her discarded clothing.

“At first maybe, but ever since the carbonite I just seem to be freezing all the time.” She laughed, “it’s so bad I was cold last time I went to Tatooine.”

He looked over her, both appreciating the enticing curves of her body and noticing the goosebumps on her skin he doubted had much to do with being aroused before pulling her into his arms. “Then I shall have to do my best to keep you warm.”

She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck to play with the hair on the back of his head as he guided her toward the bed. Her eyes never left his, she trusted him completely to guide her steps carefully backward through the room. When her legs bumped against the side of the bed she let him lower her down on to it, crawling backwards so she was entirely laid out before him. He followed her on to the bed, supporting himself on his hands and knees so he was hovering above her, and immediately turned his attention to her breasts.

He drew one of her nipples into his mouth, kissing and teasing the sensitive nub with his lips and teeth, pulling and sucking on it just enough to make her gasp and moan beneath him. He leaned to the side enough to free his other hand to knead and play with her other breast. One of her hands was buried in his hair, gripping it tightly between her fingers and holding him in place.

She let him lavish her chest with attention for several minutes, humming appreciatively when he shifted to switch his mouth to her other side before using the hand playing with his hair to pull him away just enough to get his attention. He met her gaze, the tip of her nipple slipping out of his lips as she pulled his head up. Instead of voicing her need, she lifted her hips to press against his stomach, urging him to turn his attention where she really wanted it to be.

Needing no further encouragement, he moved down her body, kissing and tasting her skin along the way, until he reached the waistband of her pants.

He paused there, his fingers on the edge of the fabric and looked up at her one last time to ensure she was sure about this. She nodded at him, biting her lower lip in anticipation, and he slipped his fingers under the edges of fabric and slowly, like unwrapping a much-anticipated treat, started to pull it down. She lifted her hips to help him work the fabric down to leave her completely bared to him. He had to move off the bed to remove the garments completely and discard them onto the floor before returning to the bed.

Instead of moving back up to hover over her, he laid down next to her on his side. Gently his ran his fingers along the line of her outer thigh, across her hip bones and back down the other side, relishing the way she squirmed and sighed with each touch. As his fingers moved he slowly moved closer and closer to her core. When he finally touched her clit, tracing a single finger down the length of sensitive nerves she jerked beneath him with a sharp gasp.

"Please Malavai," she said, her voice breathy and soft, "don't tease me."

He nodded at her request; another time he would have loved to fully explore her reactions to his touch, who would have thought a Jedi could give herself over to pleasure so entirely without joining the ranks of fallen Jedi turned Sith? But she wasn’t the only eager one. It had, after all, been a long time for both of them. Using the same finger, he caressed her clit again, following the line of it to her opening and gently pressed it inside her. Her hips lifted off the bed, pressing against his hand to silently beg for more. He pumped his finger in and out a few times before carefully adding a second. She was wet, dripping in her arousal and coating his fingers liberally, but she was tight enough that he knew he needed to warm her up properly to be ready for him.

Reaching for him, she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him close, so she could kiss him firmly. Her breath was warm against his face when she spoke, her voice little more than a desperate whisper.

"I'm ready, please, I'm ready." She repeated it a few times, her eyes staring into his to relay her seriousness.

He stopped her mouth with another quick kiss before pulling away and pushing off the bed to stand up. Quickly he divested himself of his remaining clothing before returning to hover over her, between her legs and posited his erection against her. Looking straight down, he met her eyes, holding her gaze that reminded him so of his wife’s, and pressed into her slowly. Neither looked away from one another until his hips were pressed flush against hers, his cock buried inside her to the hilt. He could feel her trembling underneath him, the blissful expression on her face and the soft broken vowels she sighed indicating her pleasure; he was almost undone then and there. He stayed still, lowering his head to press several kisses against her lips and along her jaw, giving her time to adjust to the feel of him inside her. After a moment she moved her hips, grinding them against his to tell say she was ready. 

He began to pump his hips against hers, setting a precise and torturously slow pace, knowing that if he moved as quickly as he wanted to he would finish too quickly. He didn’t want this over, not yet. 

Deena moved with him, wrapping her legs around his hips and tried to press him into going faster. She groaned in frustration when he resisted, continuing to thrust in and out of her in long steady strokes.

"Go faster," she gasped, gripping his shoulders firmly.

He laughed softly, it was little more than a hitched breath, but it was something he hadn't done much of in the last several years and shook his head at her. 

"Why so hasty?" 

She narrowed her eyes to glare up at him, an expression that completely lost its fire when he shifted his hips to adjust the angle he penetrated her at and made her moan her approval.

"It's been a very long time," she replied when she could form the words.

"I know," he assured her, pressing a kiss to her mouth, "and we both deserve to enjoy this. Savor it. I promise you will not be left wanting."

His words make her smile and she relaxed beneath him, content to let him take the lead with his promise to make it worthwhile. Her legs stay wrapped almost casually around his hips and her hands slide down from where she had been clutching at his shoulders to curl around the curve of his biceps.

Quinn continued to hold back for as long as he could, already feeling almost overcome by his own arousal. She was so tight and warm around him, and every concerted movement of their hips sent waves of pleasure and heat through his body. Feeling his climax building, knowing he cannot put it off any longer, he shifted the way he was supporting himself above her, to free one of his hands to slide it between their bodies to stroke her clit. He timed it so that as his fingers first brushed against her at the same time he snapped his hips forward, rougher and sharper than before.

He was rewarded with a loud moan and her body writhing beneath him in response. He repeated the sharper thrust, increasing his pace as he chased completion. He felt her tense around him a split second before she cried out his name as her orgasm hit her. The way she tightened around him, arching her back so she is pressed that much closer against him, pulled him over that edge with her and he came with a deep groan.

For a while neither of them moved, her arms and legs wrapped still around him and holding him in place as they both tried to catch their breath. When the trembling in his limbs had mostly subsided he pulled away, and out of her, gently before moving to collapse on the bed. He looked over at her, wanting to remember the effect their copulation had on her. She was a vision, as beautiful as ever with her red hair mussed and tangled in every direction the way only sex could manage and her face flushed pink with afterglow as she tried to fully recover her breath.

She was returning his gaze, her eyes focused intensely on his face as though she could see his thoughts. He was sure he would be able to tell if she was probing his mind, he had heard numerous reports of how painful the forced intrusion was but despite knowing she had not heard his thoughts he had the distinct feeling she knew them anyway.

When she finally broke the silence between them, her words took him by surprise.

"Will you stay?"

He observed her carefully, studying her expression while mulling over her request. It was a simple request, but somehow the idea of staying and spending the rest of the night in her bed felt more intimate than intercourse; people had sex for a myriad of reasons besides affection. It was something that could be bought on the right worlds, and even on the wrong ones if you had the right connections – not that he had ever elicited such services himself. However, paid companions did not stay the night, sleeping peacefully, vulnerably, beside a client that was little more than a stranger that had paid for their company. They did not drop their defenses that way, at not usually from what he understood. That was the kind of comfort and trust shown by a lover, not professional sex workers.

Deena was of course neither his lover nor a paid companion; she was his Commanding Officer, an unexpected confidant, someone who could truly empathize with his situation. A temporary comfort perhaps, one he would feel guilty about finding in her arms if he did not know she was doing the same. But he did not love her, or even know her beyond what she had revealed earlier in the evening and the part of him that refused to accept that he would never see his wife again reminded him of his vows to her. 

Startled by the potential emotional implications of staying, he was tempted to say no. Eira had not been his only lover before this moment, but she was the only woman who had shared his bed in such a way and he could not help but wonder if this was a larger betrayal than having sex with another woman was.

But the way Deena was looking at him, her eyes full of longing, hope, and affection he knew was for another man this experience reminded her of as surely as it reminded him of his wife made his rejection stick in his throat.

"Would you like me to?" He asked instead, reaching out to brush some of her hair behind her ear, knowing what her answer would be but giving her the chance to rethink it.

"Yes, I would," she answered earnestly.

"Then I will stay." He reached across the bed and pulled her closer to him and she came to him eagerly, lying her head on his chest, above his still racing heart, and wrapping an arm around his waist. She slid one of her legs over his, nestling it comfortably between his thighs. With a small wave of her hand the blanket, pushed to the edge of the bed and halfway onto the floor flipped up to cover them. A second small wave and the light went off.

If he wasn't in an exhausted post orgasmic haze he would have been impressed that she had not needed to see what she was manipulating to achieve her desired results. Later then he thought back to it he would be. Lulled into a near sleep state as he was by the warmth of her pressed against his side and that deep level of relaxation only sex could produce he almost missed the feel of her pressing a soft kiss against his bare chest.

"Thank you Malavai," she whispered into the darkness.

"It was my pleasure,” he said, or at least he thought he did before slipping into sleep. 

* * *

Quinn woke up first, used to a long life in the service of the Imperial Military that required him to be up early and promptly to see to his duties. Not counting his stint in prison, he didn’t know when the last time he had woken up and just stayed in bed like this would have been. It felt both liberating to be allowed to do so, and highly improper.

Though, he mused, some of the impropriety he felt might be where he was, in the bed of the Commander of the Eternal Alliance, and that the driving force keeping him from getting up was her using his chest as a pillow as she slept.

It had been years since he had last woken up with a warm body pressed against him, before Eira had disappeared, and while he had realized how much he missed his wife and her presence he had not realized how much he had missed such a simple pleasure. Part of him had expected to feel terribly guilty come morning, he still firmly believed Eira was alive, but perhaps six years was longer than he thought because he did not.

Instead he felt a level of peace and relaxation that he had not felt since he was a much younger man, like Deena’s warmth was a balm to his injured soul. It may have been a mistake, accepting her offer the night before, but unless she felt that way he was content with his choices.

The same way he was unusually content to lounge in bed after waking up just to feel her in his arms for a bit longer.

The only blemish in his contentment was his sudden doubts about his performance. He had enjoyed himself immensely, but he was not sure he was the best judge. It had been years since he had been intimate with a woman, it was entirely possible his showing had been as skilled as a teenage virgin pawing at his first girlfriend, finding his own easy satisfaction and leaving her wanting. She seemed to enjoy their time together, but his growing anxieties whispered that she could have just been sparing his feelings.

While his worries mounted, despite his attempts to brush them away, his heart sped up and he was keenly aware of his pulse. As if roused by his increased heartbeat, Deena shifted, opening her eyes to look up at him through some of the hair that had fallen across her face.

“Mm good morning,” she hummed with a small, sleepy smile.

“Good morning.”

“Have you been up long?” she asked, sounding more awake. “What time is it?”

“Not very long, but it’s still early,” he answered, brushing her hair away from her face so he could see her better. Before he could talk himself out of it, he gave voice to his concerns. “Last night,” he started carefully, “was that good? For you I mean? I want to be sure.”

She smiled and hummed happily again. “It was fantastic. Granted that was my first orgasm in 6 years but I do remember sex enough to know that last night was… wow,” she said, the last word coming out as more of a breathy sigh than properly spoken word.

Her answer made Quinn smile, feeling far lighter as his worries were forgotten, and she laughed at his expression.

“You don't have to look so smug about it you know?”

“I think I do actually,” he responded, feeling rather justified.

“Well if it makes you happy,” she said, reaching up to trace the curve of his lips with her finger. “It's a good look on you.”

He caught her hand in his, pulling it away from his face and setting it on his bare chest. Deena smiled and shifted to lie more securely against his side.

“Is it bad if I just want to stay here?” she asked, “surely they can handle a single day without me, right?”

Quinn shook his head and sighed lightly, “my apologies Commander, I am not yet familiar enough with the staff here to make such an assertion.”

Deena pulled away from him, sitting up and turning to face him properly. She looked down at him with a shocked expression. “Are you teasing me? Have you been hiding a sense of humor?”

“It is certainly a possibility,” he deadpanned, fully enjoying her reaction and the view her new position gave him until a pillow smacked him in the face. He sat up as she giggled, the pillow falling into his lap and shot her a questioning look.

“That was for hiding things from me,” she said simply. “I expect full disclosure from all my allies.”

He considered letting it go for a moment, that now might be a good time to make as graceful an exit as possible, but he was reluctant. They had not discussed if this was a one-time thing, he had not even had time to decide if he wanted it to be or not, but if it was he intended to savor it as long as possible.

While she was still smugly smiling at him, he lunged forward and pinned her to the bed. His hands grasped her wrists and pressed them into the bed above her head as he used his lower body to pin her hips down.

“In the spirit of Full Disclosure, when dealing with an Imperial Strategist: always expect a counter attack,” he said with a smirk down at her.

She had made a surprised noise when he had pinned, and they both knew she could knock him aside easily if she objected to his position, but instead she bit her lower lip and gave him an exaggerated pout.

“And what, pray tell, does an Imperial Strategist do when they have their target at their mercy?”

It was probably the cheesiest line he had ever had directed at him, and he knew it should be anything but arousing, but his body reacted instantly to her words and he could feel himself already half hard between her legs 

“That would depend,” he said, leaning in for a kiss and nipping softly at her bottom lip before leaning down further to reach the sensitive spot he had discovered on her neck the night before.

“On what?” She gasped, her body squirming beneath him wantonly.

He moved his mouth minutely to whisper in her ear. “On how naughty she’s been.”

She laughed, wiggling to press against him as best as she could with his weight holding her down. “I’ve been very-kriff,” she cut herself off with an annoyed curse as the chime of a holocomm filled the room. Deena sighed heavily as Quinn moved to let her up. He had not brought his personal comm to the cantina the night before, so he knew it must be her’s.

He watched as she pushed herself out of the bed and padded barefooted and naked over to her pile of clothing near the door. She rooted around her the pile of brown cloth to retrieve the device. As she returned to sit on the edge of the bed she activated it, turning on the audio only.

“I really hope this is important,” she said in lieu of a greeting.

“Good morning yourself Commander,” Lana said, unable to see the way Deena sighed at the title. “Is there something wrong with your holocomm? I’m not getting a visual feed.”

“Nothing’s wrong with it. I assume you needed something?”

“Of course, there is some requisition forms that need your approval? I-I’m sorry Commander, why is your visual feed muted?”

Deena looked over at Quinn, lying next to her on the bed and watching her closely. “You woke me up,” she said after a moment, “I’m naked and unless you would like to see that it’s going to stay off.”

“Ah.” Lana said, and Quinn could almost imagine her expression, he knew what that tone of voice in an Imperial accent meant. “Very well then. Will you be available soon?”

She did not answer right away, reaching across the bed to trail her fingers along the line of Quinn’s hipbone. He twitched at the contact and she laughed at his reaction.

“Commander? Are you sure everything is alright?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Deena asked casually.

Lana’s sigh was audible over the communicator, “if you say so. Are you available to go over those forms?”

“Oh no, I’m pretty booked until well after lunch I am afraid,” she said and when Quinn raised an eyebrow at her in question added, “maybe even dinner. I’m sure those forms will keep, or you can approve them yourself. You never hand me one you haven’t already meticulously reviewed after all.”

“What do you mean booked? Commander?”

Deena ignored her questions. “Oh, and Lana? It would be best for everyone if I am not interrupted for anything less than a life or death situation. 

With that she turned off the holocomm, tossing it aside with enough Force manipulation to ensure it landed on the table next to the forgotten wine from last night without breaking. She turned back to Quinn and crawled across the bed toward him.

Instead of lying down next to him, as he had expected, she straddled his hips.

Instinctively his hands moved to touch her, running up the outside of her legs on either side of him. “What are you doing Deena?”

She grinned at him and leaned forward, her long hair falling around them like a wavy red curtain. “I am taking the day off, and I didn’t even clear it with my advisers first. Is that naughty enough?”

It was still cheesy and terrible when she said it, but instead of telling her that he rolled her over intent to pick up where they left off.

**Author's Note:**

> I am a serial Multi-shipper and cannot be expected to adhere to the ships available to me in canon. As a writing exercise I numbered the classes and male love interests, found a list of "morning after" prompts on Tumblr and generated three numbers until I had a ship and prompt for each love interest.
> 
> The results were interesting to say the least but it should be fun if nothing else.


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